Property tax in Lee County, Alabama is calculated by taking a percentage of your property’s fair market value and multiplying it by the combined millage rate for your location. For a single-family home, that percentage is 10%. Bills are mailed on October 1 and must be paid by December 31, or the unpaid balance goes delinquent on January 1 and accrues 12% annual interest. The Revenue Commissioner in Opelika handles assessment and collection, and several homestead exemptions can reduce your bill, in some cases to zero.
How Your Bill Is Calculated
Alabama does not tax property at full market value. The state constitution puts every taxable property into one of four classes, each assessed at a different percentage of fair market value.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-8-1 – Classification of Property
- Class I, utility property, is assessed at 30%.
- Class II, commercial and other property that doesn’t fit another class, is assessed at 20%.
- Class III, owner-occupied single-family homes, farmland, and forest land, is assessed at 10%.
- Class IV, private passenger cars and personal-use pickup trucks, is assessed at 15%.
One mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value.2Alabama Department of Revenue. Property Tax Assessment Your total millage rate combines state, county, and school district levies, and it varies by where in the county you live. The Revenue Commissioner’s office can tell you the exact rate for your parcel.
Here is the math on a typical home. If your house has a fair market value of $200,000, its Class III assessed value is 10% of that, or $20,000. At a combined rate of 50 mills, you multiply $20,000 by 0.050, which gives a $1,000 annual bill before exemptions. Alabama sets October 1 as the lien date, meaning the value and ownership on that date determine the tax for the year.3Alabama Department of Revenue. Personal Property
Homestead Exemptions That Reduce What You Owe
Alabama offers four tiers of homestead exemption. Every tier requires that you own the home and use it as your primary residence, and the property cannot exceed 160 acres.4Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 810-4-1-.23 – Homestead and Principal Residence Exemptions From Property Tax
- H-1, the standard exemption for owners under 65, removes the first $4,000 of assessed value from state property taxes and the first $2,000 from county taxes. Local governments can raise the county portion up to $4,000.
- H-2 applies if you are 65 or older with Alabama adjusted gross income under $12,000, or permanently and totally disabled. It exempts you from all state property tax and exempts the first $5,000 of assessed value from county taxes, including school district levies.
- H-3 applies if you are 65 or older with combined federal net taxable income of $12,000 or less, or permanently and totally disabled at any income level. It exempts you from all state, county, and municipal property tax.
- H-4 applies if you are 65 or older with Alabama income over $12,000. It removes all state property tax and gives you the standard $2,000 county exemption.
The distinction between H-2 and H-3 turns on which income figure applies: H-2 uses Alabama adjusted gross income, H-3 uses combined federal net taxable income. A homeowner who qualifies for H-3 pays no property tax at all, which is worth checking before assuming H-2 is the ceiling.5Alabama Department of Revenue. Homestead Exemptions
You claim any exemption by filing with the Lee County Revenue Commissioner. For age- and income-based exemptions, bring your most recent Alabama or federal income tax return. The office requires an original signed federal return; worksheet copies are not accepted. For disability-based exemptions, acceptable proof is either a pension or annuity statement showing disability retirement from a private or government employer, or written certification from two unrelated Alabama-licensed physicians confirming permanent and total disability.6Lee County Revenue Commissioner. Homestead Exemptions
When and How to Pay
Tax bills are mailed on October 1, and you have until December 31 to pay without penalty. On January 1, any unpaid balance is delinquent and starts accruing interest at 12% per year.7Lee County Revenue Commissioner. Tax Sale Information
If you can’t pay the full amount in one go, Alabama law allows partial payments so long as each installment is at least 25% of the original amount due.8Lee County Revenue Commissioner. Lee County Revenue Commissioner Any balance still unpaid after December 31 is treated as delinquent.
The Revenue Commissioner accepts payments online, by mail, and in person. Online payments through the county website take credit cards and electronic checks, with a convenience fee typically running 2% to 3% for card transactions. Mailed payments go to the main office in Opelika. Three offices take walk-in payments:9Lee County Revenue Commissioner. Contact Us
- Opelika main office, 215 South 9th Street, Opelika, AL 36801, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday.
- Auburn satellite, 1266 Mall Parkway, Auburn, AL 36830, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday.
- Smiths Station satellite, 2336 Panther Parkway, Suite 140, Smiths Station, AL 36877, open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday.
The Smiths Station office runs on Eastern Time while the other two run on Central, a one-hour difference that matters if you’re cutting a deadline close.
What Happens if You Don’t Pay
Once your account is delinquent on January 1, 12% annual interest starts accruing on the unpaid balance. After January 31, the Revenue Commissioner will no longer accept personal checks on delinquent real property. By mid-March, unpaid parcels are advertised in a local newspaper for the annual tax sale.7Lee County Revenue Commissioner. Tax Sale Information
The sale itself is held on the first Wednesday in May at the Lee County Courthouse in Opelika. To keep your property off the published list, you must pay the full delinquent amount by 4:30 p.m. on the publication cutoff, which for the current cycle is March 11. Online payments for delinquent real property close after the first week of May.
A trap for business owners: if you owe delinquent tax on both business personal property and real property, the business personal property balance has to be paid first. The county will not take payment on your real property until that account is clear. Business personal property itself does not go to tax sale, but an unpaid balance there can still block you from rescuing your real estate.
Redeeming Property After a Tax Sale
If your property is sold at a tax sale, you have three years from the sale date to redeem it. Redemption means paying what the buyer paid at the sale, any later taxes the buyer covered on the property, and 12% annual interest on those amounts.10Alabama Department of Revenue. Do I Have the Option to Redeem My Tax Delinquent Property Miss the three-year window, and the buyer can obtain a deed and take ownership. At 12%, the cost of redeeming climbs quickly, so acting sooner is better than later.
Appealing an Assessment You Think Is Too High
If you believe the county has overvalued your property, you can challenge it through the Lee County Board of Equalization. The process begins with a written objection filed with the board’s secretary, describing the property and explaining why the assessed value is wrong.11Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-3-20 – Publication of Notice of Valuation
You have 30 calendar days from the date the county publishes its final notice of valuations in a local newspaper. The clock runs from the publication date, not from whenever you happen to notice the new value on your bill. Missing that window generally locks in the assessed value for the year.12Alabama Department of Revenue. What Can I Do if I Do Not Agree With the Value on My Property
Bring concrete evidence to the hearing. A recent independent appraisal carries real weight. Comparable sales from your immediate area are also strong: if similar homes on your street sold for less than the county’s assessed fair market value, that gap is hard to argue with. Photos documenting damage, deferred maintenance, or environmental issues that pull the value down can add to your case. If the board rules in your favor, the revised assessment lowers your tax bill directly. If you disagree with the board’s decision, Alabama law allows a further appeal to circuit court within 30 days of the board’s final ruling.
Looking Up Your Account Online
The Revenue Commissioner’s website has a taxpayer search tool for looking up accounts and paying online. Searching by parcel number requires padding the number with leading zeros to six digits, so parcel 693 is entered as 000693. For a Lee Road address, pad the road number to four digits and write “Road” as “Rd” with no period, so Lee Road 23 becomes “Lee Rd 0023.”13Lee County Revenue Commissioner. Lee County Revenue – Property Your parcel number and account details also appear on the paper notice mailed each October.